Patent Application
20230335006
The present invention relates to a speech therapy aid. More specifically, the invention relates to a robotic head for modeling the anatomical movements necessary to articulate different speech sounds.
Vocalized speech is a critical part of human communication. Spoken words are created out of the phonetic combination of a limited set of vowels and consonants that, when verbalized, generate various specific speech sounds.
Unfortunately, millions of people are affected by language disorders, including speech sound or articulation disorders. Those with such disorders typically have difficulty learning how to physically produce the intended phonemes, or in other words, have difficulty making certain speech sounds. As just one example, an individual suffering from an articulation disorder, when intending to make an “r” sound, may instead make a “w” sound, and as a result, will speak the word “rabbit” as “wabbit.”
Often, articulation disorders are a result of incorrect positioning and/or movement of the tongue, lips, and jaw. The speaker may find it difficult to visualize the correct location of these anatomical parts, and therefore, intervention by a professional who can employ speech therapy is often required to help teach the speaker how to orient the tongue and other parts of the mouth.
Such speech therapy often entails instructing the affected individual regarding the proper positioning of the jaw, lips, and tongue when making the different audible phonetic sounds necessary for effective verbal communication. For example, when making an M, B, or P sound, the mouth is closed and the lips are pursed in a manner that conceals the teeth. However, when making a V or F sound, the mouth is closed, but the lips are slightly parted in a manner which leaves the teeth slightly exposed. Moreover, when making a “TH” sound, the lips are slightly open, but the tongue is placed in contact with the apical tips of the upper central incisor teeth.
Over the years, various techniques have been employed to try to elicit the production of specific speech sounds, including mirrors for visual feedback, gestural hand cueing to demonstrate place and manner of production, palatography to record/visualize contact of the tongue on the palate, amplifying target sounds to reduce distraction and improve attention, using acoustic feedback, such as recordings of the client's speech, and providing tactile biofeedback, using tools like tongue depressors to correct tongue placement. Nevertheless, it is often difficult for the speech pathologist to physically demonstrate to the person receiving the speech therapy the proper relative positioning of the mouth, lips, teeth and tongue for each of the required speech sounds.
Proper tongue formation, for example, requires fine muscular coordination. Teaching proper tongue formation without the help of mechanical aids typically amounts to the speech therapist repeatedly instructing the individual to shape his/her tongue in the proper manner, and having the individual repeatedly try to follow these directions, while also listening to their own speech as they do so, in order to see if he/she generates the proper sound. Using this process, it can be quite difficult for the individual to visualize the proper execution of the directions they are receiving.
Therefore, various types of speech therapy aids have been employed over the years to help visually demonstrate the relative positioning of the mouth, lips, teeth, and tongue to affected individuals attempting to learn how to generate certain speech sounds.
Some of these devices are positioned in the mouth of the speaker and then visually demonstrate the effects of anatomical movements as the speaker practices pronouncing the relevant speech sound. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,770 to Davis discloses an older device for teaching proper tongue and mouth formation to correct various speech problems. This device captures and isolates the air expelled from different parts of the speaker's mouth, and it visually indicates the magnitude of air expelled from each part of the mouth. Through trial and error, the speaker can visually observe how different articulations of his/her tongue change the sounds that are produced.
In other cases, these devices attempt to mimic the actual anatomical movements themselves. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,477 to Miles relates to a puppet for demonstrating the preferred positioning of oral anatomical structures (e.g., mouth, tongue, hard palate, incisor teeth) when making various speech sounds. The device includes a puppet body into which a user inserts a hand, and which has various digit-receiving spaces in the tongue and jaw, such that the user's hand may be moved or manipulated so as to cause selective movement of these parts of the puppet when making certain phonetic sounds.
However, as noted above, proper pronunciation of various different speech sounds involves simultaneous, very sophisticated movements and positioning of multiple anatomical parts to produce one speech sound rather than another. The aforementioned devices all fail to adequately demonstrate this fine muscle coordination and precise positioning in concert with the audible production of the relevant speech sounds. These speech therapy devices are often difficult and time-consuming to use, and they tend to be fairly ineffective.
What is desired, therefore, is a speech therapy aid that will visually demonstrate the precise positioning of anatomical parts for generating individual speech sounds. What is further desired is a speech therapy aid that audibly produces the relevant speech sound while this is being demonstrated. What is also desired is such a speech therapy device that is easy to use.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a speech therapy aid that teaches the proper movement and positioning of the tongue, lips, and jaw for producing specific, desired speech sounds.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a speech therapy aid that demonstrates such movement using artificial versions of these parts that closely resemble the human anatomy.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a speech therapy aid that audibly produces the relevant speech sound while visually demonstrating the movements corresponding to that sound.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a speech therapy aid that is easy to use.
In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and to achieve at least some of the objects and advantages listed, the invention comprises a robotic head for modeling the articulation of speech sounds, including a three-dimensional head section representing the anatomy of at least part of a human head, a moveable tongue portion, moveable upper and lower lip portions, and a moveable jaw portion, at least one actuator for moving the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion, a memory storing a plurality of motion command sets, each motion command set being a predetermined set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a speech sound different from the speech sounds corresponding to other of the motion command sets, and a processor that, in response to receipt of a speech sound input command that identifies a requested speech sound, transmits the commands of the motion command set corresponding to the requested speech sound stored in the memory to the at least one actuator to move one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of the requested speech sound, and wherein the three-dimensional head section is a transparent material such that the tongue portion is viewable by a patient when moved in response to the at least one actuator receiving the commands of the motion command set corresponding to the requested speech sound.
In certain advantageous embodiments, the plurality of motion command sets stored in the memory includes two or more of a first set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a first vowel sound, a second set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a second vowel sound different from the first vowel sound, a third set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a first consonant sound, a fourth set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a second consonant different from the first consonant sound.
In some embodiments, the plurality of motion command sets stored in the memory includes a first set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a bilabial sound, a second set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a labio-dental sound, a third set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of an inter-dental sound, a fourth set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a alveolar sound, a fifth set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a post-alveolar sound, a sixth set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a palatal sound, and a seventh set of commands for moving one or more of the tongue portion, lip portions, and jaw portion in a manner that corresponds to generation of a velar sound. In certain embodiments, the memory includes all of these sets of commands
In certain embodiments, the invention further comprises a control box on which the three-dimensional head section is mounted, the control box including the memory and the processor therein, a display that displays a plurality of textual representations of the speech sounds corresponding to the plurality of motion command sets, such that the requested speech sound can be selected from the plurality of textual representations, an input for generating the speech sound input command that identifies the requested speech sound, and an audio output for audibly producing the requested speech sound in response to the speech sound input command.
In some of these embodiments, the input includes a manual control with which the requested speech sound can be selected from the plurality of textual representations on the display. In other embodiments, the display includes a touch screen, the touch screen having the input for generating the speech sound input command that identifies the requested speech sound.
In certain advantageous embodiments, the display also displays an option to select a number of times the speaker will audibly produce the requested speech sound in response to the speech sound input command.
In some embodiments, the invention further comprises a control box on which the three-dimensional head section is mounted, the control box having a receiver for wireless communication with a mobile device, and software executing on the mobile device that displays a plurality of textual representations of the speech sounds corresponding to the plurality of motion command sets, such that the requested speech sound can be selected from the plurality of textual representations and, when selected, the speech sound input command that identifies the requested speech sound is transmitted to the control box. In some cases, the software executing on the mobile device also displays an option to select a number of times the requested speech sound will be audibly produced in response to the speech sound input command
In certain embodiments, the at least one actuator includes first and second tongue servomotors coupled to the moveable tongue portion, first and second lip servomotors coupled to the moveable upper and lower lip portions, respectively, and at least one jaw servomotor coupled to the moveable jaw portion.
In some cases, the invention further includes a control box on which the three-dimensional head section is mounted, and a support frame connected to the control box, wherein the first and second tongue servomotors, first and second lip servomotors, and at least one jaw servomotor are mounted to the frame.
In certain advantageous embodiments, the invention includes a cover connected to the control box, the cover at least partially enclosing a chamber in which the support frame is disposed. In some embodiments, the cover is made of an opaque material that obscures the frame, first and second tongue servomotors, first and second lip servomotors, and at least one jaw servomotor from view. In some cases, the cover includes a first portion connected to the control box, and a second portion hingedly connected to the first portion of the cover such the second portion is moveable from a first position, in which the first and second tongue servomotors, first and second lip servomotors, and at least one jaw servomotor are from hidden from view, to a second position, in which the first and second tongue servomotors, first and second lip servomotors, and at least one jaw servomotor are manually accessible by a user.
In some embodiments, the at least one actuator includes first and second tongue servomotors, and the moveable tongue portion includes a channel therein, and the invention further includes a support frame to which the first and second tongue servomotors are mounted, a flexing band disposed in the channel, the flexing band having a first end mounted to the support frame, and a second end adjacent a distal end of the tongue portion, a first string disposed in the channel, the first string having a first end coupled to the first tongue servomotor, and a second end coupled to the second end of the flexing band, such that the tongue moves upwardly when the first tongue servomotor pulls on the first string, and a second string disposed in the channel, the second string having a first end coupled to the second tongue servomotor, and a second end coupled to the second end of the flexing band, such that the tongue moves downwardly when the second tongue servomotor pulls on the second string. In some of these embodiments, the flexing band is a spring steel band.
In certain embodiments, the at least one actuator includes first and second lip servomotors, and the invention further includes a support frame to which the first and second lip servomotors are mounted, an upper denture portion and a lower denture portion, each denture portion having a plurality of protuberances along an outer edge thereof, each protuberance having an aperture therein, an upper flexing band having a first end coupled to the first lip servomotor, the upper flexing band passing through the apertures of the protuberances along the outer edge of the upper denture portion, and having a second end affixed to a proximal end of the upper denture portion, wherein a distal section of the upper flexing band member is affixed to the moveable upper lip portion such that, when the first lip servomotor pulls the upper flexing band member, the upper lip portion is pulled inwardly, and a lower flexing band having a first end coupled to the second lip servomotor, the lower flexing band passing through the apertures of the protuberances along the outer edge of the lower denture portion, and having a second end affixed to a proximal end of the lower denture portion, wherein a distal section of the lower flexing band member is affixed to the moveable lower lip portion such that, when the second lip servomotor pulls the lower flexing band member, the lower lip portion is pulled inwardly. In certain of these embodiments, when the first lip servomotor pushes the upper flexing band member, the upper lip portion is pushed outwardly, and when the second lip servomotor pushes the lower flexing band member, the lower lip portion is pushed outwardly. In some cases, the upper flexing band and the lower flexing band are spring steel bands.
In some embodiments, the at least one actuator includes a jaw servomotor, and the invention further includes a support frame to which the jaw servomotor is mounted, the jaw portion having a support member pivotably connected to the frame, and a lower denture portion affixed to the support member, and the jaw servomotor is coupled to the support member by linkage such that, when the servomotor pulls the linkage, the support member and lower denture portion pivot downwardly.
The following detailed description illustrates the technology by way of example, not by way of limitation, of the principles of the invention. This description will enable one skilled in the art to make and use the technology, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the invention, including what is presently believed to be the best mode of carrying out the invention. One skilled in the art will recognize alternative variations and arrangements, and the present technology is not limited to those embodiments described hereafter.
The head section (24) is mounted to a base in the form of a control box (32), discussed in further detail below. A support frame (36), which in this embodiment is positioned within the head cavity (28), is also mounted to the control box (32). The frame (36) supports various actuators and mechanical linkages that operate the anatomical portions of the head, as is also discussed further below.
The head section (124) comprises clear, grade 1 silicone, and thus, is somewhat malleable in order to accommodate the various movements discussed herein. The head is transparent so that the individual receiving the speech therapy is able to see through the head section (124) to view the various positions of the tongue and other parts of the mouth.
Referring to
The frame (136) and cover (140) are mounted to the control box (132). The cover (140) includes first and second portions (138, 139), which are pivotably connected by at least one hinge (142). Accordingly, the second portion (139) may be pivoted into an open position (
As shown most clearly in
As shown in
Referring to
As noted above, the frame (136), and the components mounted thereto, are at least partially enclosed by the cover housing (140). In the example shown, the housing (140) accommodates the frame (136), servomotors (150, 152, 156, 158, 162), and part of the linkages coupling the servomotors to the anatomical portions discussed above. This serves several purposes. Because the head portion (124) is made of a transparent material in order to facilitate viewing of the moving anatomical portions discussed above, the cover (140) can be fashioned out of an opaque material that hides the frame (136) and components thereon from the viewer. First, this provides a more attractive, sleek look, which is highly desirable in clinical settings. More importantly, as speech therapy patients are often children who would easily be distracted by moving parts such as spinning motor shafts and pivoting linkages, these components are largely shielded from view by the cover (140), allowing the patient to remain focused on the moving anatomical parts.
As illustrated in
The jaw portion (230) includes a lower support member (220). Referring back to
The opening of the jaw portion (230) is achieved via the large servomotor (162), which drives a rotating member (234). Rotating member (234) is coupled to linkage rod (238), which in turn, is coupled to the underside of pivoting member (220). As a result, the jaw portion (230), comprised of the pivoting member/lower denture assembly (220, 224), can be opened to a specific, predetermined degree by rotating the member (234) by the corresponding amount.
Referring to
In certain advantageous embodiments, the band (263) comprises a spring steel band, shown in
Alternatively, other types of bands or wires may be employed. Additionally, other bands or wires (264) may also be directly connected to the rotating member (284), and may also penetrate, or be molded or otherwise embedded in, the lip portion (250), as is shown in
Movement of the upper lip portion (250) is achieved via the small servomotor (150), which faces outwardly from the frame (136) and drives the rotating member (284). As shown in
In similar fashion, as shown in
The lower flexing band (364) may be arranged in any of the manners described above for the upper flexing band. Movement of the lower lip portion (254) is achieved via the small servomotor (152), which also faces outwardly, on the opposite side of the frame (136), to drive a rotating member (288), such that the band (364) pulls back the lower lip portion (254). As a result, the lower lip portion (254) can likewise be retracted to a specific, predetermined amount by rotating the rotating member (288) accordingly. Similarly, when member (288) rotates in the other direction, it pushes the band (364), and thus, extends the lip outwardly.
Referring to
In the illustrated embodiments, the distal end of the band (430) includes a plastic clip (434) with at least one eyelet therethrough. The large servomotor (156) drives a rotating member (456), which is connected to the clip eyelet (438) via a nylon string (170) that runs adjacent the band (430) within the channel (420). As shown in
The jaw portion (230), upper and lower lip portions (250, 254), and tongue portion (400) are controlled by the control box (132) based upon the requested speech sounds input by a user. In the particular embodiment illustrated in
The control box (132) may employ various types of inputs for receiving the speech sound request from the user. For example, the device may include a manual control, such as a knob and/or button (504) for making the desired selection. In some embodiments, the display (500) itself is a touch screen, which the user can use to scroll through the options and make a selection.
In some cases, the control box (132) includes a receiver for wirelessly communicating with a control device. For example, a nearby mobile device (520) may communicate with the control box (132) via Bluetooth® or other wireless protocol, such that a user can use an application on a smartphone or tablet to review and select the relevant speech sounds. In other cases, the control box (132) communicates with a remote device via the Internet (or other network) in cases where the speech therapist is located remotely from the person receiving the speech therapy.
In some embodiments, the selection of the speech sound can be made verbally via speech recognition software.
The control box also includes a processor (540) and an associated memory (550). Stored in the memory (550) are a plurality of motion command sets, each of which corresponds to a particular speech sound. Each motion command set includes one or more commands for moving one or more of the jaw portion (230), upper and lower lip portions (250, 254), and tongue portion (400).
Referring to
The processor then communicates (730) the retrieved motion commands to the relevant servomotors for moving one or more of the jaw portion, upper and lower lip portions, and tongue portion. Upon receiving the motion commands, the relevant servomotors (150, 152, 156, 158, 162) move one or more of the jaw portion (230), upper and lower lip portions (250, 254), and tongue portion (400) as commanded in order to reflect the proper positioning of the anatomy for that speech sound, which are identified and labelled for ease of reference in
For example, the speech sound representing a “th” (as in “the” or “thin”) is known as an interdental sound. As shown in
Another type of speech sound is known as an alveolar sound, which is a sound that is made using the front of the mouth. This requires positioning the end of the tongue (400) on the alveolar ridge (600), which is a bumpy part behind the upper teeth (208). A number of consonants are articulated from this basic position of the tongue with slight positional changes, including: as shown in
Another type of speech sound is known as a palato-alveolar sound, which is also a sound that is made using the front of the mouth, including “sh” (as in “shut”) and “zh” (as in “judge”). However, as shown in
The speech sound representing a “y” (as in “yo-yo”) is known as a palatal sound. As shown in
Another type of speech sound is known as a velar sound, which are sounds that are made using the back of the mouth. This requires drawing the tongue (400) back to touch the soft palate (612). Several consonants are articulated from this position of the tongue, including: as shown in
Vowels also require different positions of the tongue (400). For example, to produce front vowels, the tongue (400) is positioned such that the highest point of the tongue is located in the front of the mouth without creating a constriction that would make it a consonant. As illustrated in Fla 34K, this point is at different heights depending on the type of front vowel produced. To produce back vowels, the tongue (400) is positioned such that the highest point of the tongue is located in the back of the mouth without creating a constriction that would make it a consonant. As illustrated in
For each of these sounds, the lips are also set in a particular position. In fact, some speech sounds are heavily dependent on the motion of the lips. For example, bilabial sounds are produced using both lips. As shown in
The labio-dental sounds are also produced using the lips in combination with the teeth. As shown in
Front views of the specific position of the lips (250, 254) for the various sounds are shown and labelled in
Similarly, the jaw (230) is controlled based on the degree to which it should be opened for a particular speech sound. Movement of the jaw is mostly dictated by the production of vowel sounds. As previously noted, for both front and back vowel sounds, the highest point of the tongue is positioned at different heights, depending on the particular vowel. The lower the tongue portion (400) is positioned for a given vowel sound, the more open the jaw portion (230) is opened.
It should be noted that certain sounds do not require specific repositioning of the jaw (230), lips (250, 254), and tongue (400) portions. For example, the speech sound representing an “h” (as in “hat”) is known as glottal sound, which is produced by moving the vocal chords and pushing air through them. Therefore, as shown in
Moreover, certain sounds can be demonstrated by positioning the jaw (230), lips (250, 254), and tongue (400) portions in different configurations. For example, the “r” sound (as in “red”) can be produced as a bunched R, which, as shown in
Additionally, certain consonants require a combination of the movements described further above. These include “x” (as in “box”), which requires the articulation of the both the “k” and “s” sounds, and “qu” (as in “quit”), which requires the articulation of the both the “k” and “w” sounds.
It should further be noted that variations of the sounds and corresponding positions may vary depending on the particular language in which the speech therapy in being conducted. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, a particular language may be selectable from a plurality of languages using the input (504).
As shown in
Returning to
In some cases, this audible reproduction of the speech sound will be played multiple times. The number of times it will repeat can either be a predetermined number programmed into the control box, or this number may be selectable using the input (504).
It should be understood that the foregoing is illustrative and not limiting, and that obvious modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described with reference to embodiments herein, those embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention. Accordingly, reference should be made primarily to the accompanying claims, rather than the foregoing specification, to determine the scope of the invention.
